The Site of Petrarchism: Early Modern National Sentiment in Italy, France, and England by William J. Kennedy (review)

Abstract

MLRy 100.2, 2005 587 Maryvonne Hutchins-Boisseau explores the question of translating Dante in 'Ciaran Carson's Inferno: A Translator's Choices', focusing in particular on those ele? ments which reveal the contemporary Irish linguistic and literary contexts. Moving to the wider question of Dante's presence in anglophone literature, Corinna Salvadori Lonergan's ' "E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle": But There Are No Stars. Dante in Beckett's Endgame' provides a stimulating consideration of Dante as a 'factor' in Beckett's writing, showing how the Inferno, in particular, infuses this play. Likewise, Cormac O Cuilleanain's 'Dante in The Zebra-Striped Hearse' raises broader ques? tions which go beyond a simple examination of Dantean motifs. The author surveys Dantean echoes in modern crime fiction, revealing incidentally, in a typically deft and wide-ranging piece, how the Dantean allusion has become itself a key element of a certain type of detective novel. Giovanni Pillonca's '"Marking Time": Some Remarks on Seamus Heaney's Reading of Dante's Purgatory' considers how Heaney uses the idea of purgatory, and the Purgatorio, to relate atrocity and poetry in his 1984 collection Station Island. The book itself is attractively produced, despite some minor errors. It could be argued that the miscellaneous format has led to a lack of overall unifying focus; none the less, it contains many valuable contributions to the subject of Dante's ongoing literary influence. Edinburgh Guyda Armstrong The Site of Petrarchism: Early Modern National Sentiment in Italy, France, and Eng? land. By William J. Kennedy. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins Uni? versity Press. 2003. 383 pp. ?33.50. ISBN 0-8018-7144-1. This book sets itself the far from easy task of relating the literary phenomenon of European Petrarchism to the growth of early forms of national sentiment. Petrar? chism is regarded as a 'site' (a word with which the author plays a great deal) in which this process may be observed. After discussing the impact of early commentators on the reception of Petrarch in Italy as well as abroad, Kennedy turns to a discussion of Du Bellay in France and the Sidney family in England. The examination of these writers entails a complex and at times indigestible amalgam of literary, linguistic, and cultural history, literary criticism, and cultural theory, loosely presided over by Freud, as represented especially by Totem and Taboo. According to the 'explanatory focus' provided by this work, Petrarch chooses classical culture as a 'totem', a surrogate for his Florentine cultural past, while he himself becomes a totem for Medici Florence. Then later in Protestant England, Continental Catholic culture becomes, paradoxically, a totem replacing a rejected English Catholic past. Kennedy builds on much of the material of his previous study of Petrarchism, AuthorizingPetrarch (Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell University Press, 1994), and his approach is marked by a similar cultural relativism, only occasionally modified by readings which might suggest that there are continuing reasons for admiring and appreciating Petrarch's poetry. The historical focus of the book may seem perplexing, in that lyric poetry, mainly concerned with love, would appear to be an unlikely vehicle for the expression of national feeling (as opposed to something like Shakespeare's historical plays). However, Kennedy does make an interesting case. His argument seems to draw on the following points. (1) Petrarch's own experience of exile and his enthusiasm for classical culture made him form a wider loyalty to Italy than the purely local. (2) Petrarch's commentators emphasized the poet's exile and travels, providing anecdotal and geographical settings forthe poems, and commenting (from a variety of perspectives) on the political situation. (3) Petrarch's language, with its 588 Reviews classical features and avoidance of regionalisms, became accepted as a 'supra-regional' standard in Italy and a model for such a standard abroad. (4) Petrarchan imitators in Italy combined a supra-regional style and language with a content which included particular geographical references. This could be seen as combining local loyalties with a wider sense of belonging. (5) National sentiment, Kennedy argues, grows out of personal loyalties. Du Bellay exemplifies this in his attempt to forge a network of French Petrarchan poets. Such ties enabled members...